


till death do us part

by dyoxyys



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Childhood Memories, M/M, Memories, Parent Death, heart failure, its sad im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25554391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dyoxyys/pseuds/dyoxyys
Summary: It didn’t surprise Hakoda when his husband collapsed. Maybe it should have, but their hair was gray, their bones were weak, and their bodies were failing them. It was only a matter of time before one of them passed.Hakoda had just thought he would go first.Bakoda Fleet Week Day Two: Old Wounds
Relationships: Bato/Hakoda (Avatar)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 58
Collections: Bakoda Fleet Week 2020





	till death do us part

It didn’t surprise Hakoda when his husband collapsed. Maybe it should have, but their hair was gray, their bones were weak, and their bodies were failing them. It was only a matter of time before one of them passed.

Hakoda had just thought he would go first. The spirits had already taken one of his loves from him, he refused to believe they were cruel enough to take his second.

The spirits, it seemed, did not care what Hakoda believed. 

He thanked them anyway because at least they were in Republic City. At least their kids were already with them. At least-

‘At least’ wouldn’t get Bato out of bed. 

Katara had tried all night to get his heart rate back to normal. Her magic glowing water trick usually worked, but neither she nor her healer friends could fix this.

He was no stranger to mortality. His father had died when he was too young to understand. His sister had died before she could even walk. His brother had died and left him in charge of their tribe. His men, so many of his men, had died under his careful watch. His wife, his precious, lovely Kya had died defending their baby. He was no stranger to mortality, he and Death were close acquaintances. 

Death is not the kind of acquaintance Hakoda wanted joining him at the festival.

It had been twenty-five years since the war had ended, and yet echos of the pain still haunted him. His leg never fully healed, so he walked with a crutch on bad days. A few years back, Bato had lost mobility of his left arm. 

His heart, Toph had told Hakoda through choked back tears, had been fated to collapse since the day he was burned. Bato knew this, she told him, he tried to stop it, he just didn’t want anyone to worry, It was easy to believe, Bato never let others share his suffering.

He tried not to cry as Toph told him and his children that Bato had an irregular heartbeat. His heart had been weird since she met him. She asked him about it once, asked if it hurt, why it was like that, and he had simply put her hand on his arm and let her feel his scarring. 

She hadn’t known it would be his doom at that point. She hadn’t known until she spent time in the Earth Kingdom and talked to other earthbenders whose parents had died long after the war, and yet they still spitefully blamed the Fire Nation for their passing. Their heart couldn’t handle the burns anymore, she had found out. It took a long time, but as people grow frail, their hearts grow frail as well, until suddenly the irregular heartbeat was worsened and the heart could no longer support the scars. 

Hakoda couldn’t handle the way Sokka’s voice shook when he asked Toph if Zuko’s heartbeat was messed up. He couldn’t handle how angry he felt when she told them that firebender hearts are built to support fire and are not known to collapse from fire-induced scarring.

He hadn’t been truly angry at firebenders in so many years, but why should their hearts get to beat when Bato was dying? He was overjoyed that this fate would not take Zuko from them, he wasn’t angry at Zuko, he was angry at the people who had burnt Bato’s arm and let him think they hadn’t killed him. 

His anger faded instantly when Toph’s talking stopped and turned into painful crying. She and Bato had been so close, he knew she was losing a father just as much as Katara and Sokka were. 

The hospital they were in was the best in the world, according to Katara. If they were so good, why was Bato’s breathing so shallow? Why couldn’t he keep his eyes open? Why was his hand so limp in Hakoda’s?

He was broken from his thoughts by Toph gently touching his wrist. “Tell me about him. Please.” She sounded so small, so different from the normal authoritative persona she flaunted, he could hardly tell her no.

“The first memory I have of him, we were six,” he started, taking a deep breath to keep his tears at bay. “He was scrawny back then. Shorter than me, if you’ll believe it. He had this wolfseal, Kona. She was massive, she towered over us, and she was always at his side. Most of the kids were scared of her, so they steered clear of him most of the time. I wasn’t afraid, she was just a hunter, and her mother had been my dad’s, so I decided to stick by him. I don’t think he liked me at first. I was very annoying as a kid. 

“He didn’t talk much. He’s never been very talkative. That was okay with me because I could talk enough for both of us. When we got older, his father took us hunting together. His father always treated me like a second son after my dad passed. When my older brother passed, he supported me and helped me figure out how I was going to lead. I had just turned ten.”

Hakoda paused and took a long drink of water before continuing, hand still clasped tightly around his husband’s. 

“I was his first kiss, did you know that? We were so young back then, probably not even Bumi’s age, and he pulls me aside and he says, ‘Koda, I don’t know how to kiss, what if all the girls think I’m bad at it?’ and so I kissed him. Just for practice, you know? I figured it was what everyone did. He told me after we got married that he was already in love with me then.”

It hurt a lot, talking about these memories, but it also felt nice. It was easy to pretend he was just reminiscing and telling Toph the stories his own children already knew. It was easy to act like both their faces weren’t wet, like Toph’s breath didn’t hitch every few minutes, giving away a break in Bato’s heartbeat, like his own hands weren’t shaking. 

Sometime during his story, his grandchildren had come in. They were standing awkwardly by the door, unsure what to do with the sight of their grandfather on his deathbed. Izumi was holding little Tenzin, and it hurt to see. They were all so young, so innocent, they hadn't yet shaken hands with death. He knew this was new and frightening for all of them, even Izumi, whose Grandpa Iroh had passed peacefully in his sleep years ago. It was different seeing someone you love struggle between life and death, trying to stay awake despite the cruel hands pulling them down. 

He continued his stories. 

"I broke my arm when I was fifteen, out on a hunting trip with him. I had stepped wrong and slid on the ice. I wasn't wearing a coat, so my arm was exposed and easily broken. He freaked out. He had no idea what to do, neither of us knew if it was the ice or my arm that had made the cracking noise, and I wouldn't let him come help me up on potentially dangerous ice. 

"Kona ended up walking out and dragging me back by my collar. My mom was so mad, she swore she wouldn't let me out on the ice for six months after that, but I couldn't stop laughing, and neither could Bato, and we ended up sneaking out and going ice fishing the next night anyway."

Sokka and Katara walked in with their husbands at this point. They were all trying valiantly to keep a brave face for their children, but Hakoda could see the sadness in their eyes. He put his arm around Katara’s shoulder and let Sokka grab his arm with the hand not clasping Zuko’s. They didn’t deserve this, they didn’t need to see another parent die, but he couldn’t tell them to close their eyes anymore. 

Sokka nudged his father, silently telling him to continue with his stories, so he did.

“When we were dumb teens who didn’t know any better, he stole some of his dad’s alcohol. We went out and hid in a cave to get drunk.” He opted out of telling them how they had kissed again and again, too drunk to care, too drunk to remember why they kept their hands to themselves. “It was all fun and games until the walrus lynx who lived there came back and found a couple of drunk boys. We barely got out of there unharmed, but we were more afraid of his dad seeing blood on our coats and demanding to know where we had been than we were of the angry walrus lynx." It would've been out of character for Bato to steal alcohol if the story ended there. The morning after that, Bato's father was shipped off. He never came back. He decided not to tell that part. 

"Tell us about after Mommy was born!" Kya demanded, her eyes lighting up in the same way her namesake's eyes used to. It hurt to look at her in the same way it hurt to look at Sokka, sometimes. 

He obliged her, even though it made him think of Kya. Thirty years had passed and his heart still had not recovered. He tried not to think about how his heart would recover this time. 

"When your mom was really young, I had to stay home a lot. She wasn't very strong when she was born, so she needed extra care. He would leave early in the mornings and come back late at night to make sure the babies, your grandmother, your great grandmother, and I always had enough to eat. It was winter. He barely slept those days. I asked him why he was doing this for us, and he just said 'You would do the same for me.'" 

Now, he knew Bato viewed the children as his own even then. Even then, he knew he wouldn't be making any of his own, he knew Katara and Sokka were as close as he could get to fatherhood. That was alright, Hakoda and Kya had never viewed him as any less than the children's second father. 

Katara was shaking under his arm now. Her face was dry when he looked over, but he couldn't say for certain if that was from lack of crying or simply bending away any evidence of her sorrow. If he had to guess, he'd say the latter was more likely. 

Bato's breathing stuttered again and Toph abruptly stood and left, using her sleeve to wipe her face as she exited the tiny room. 

He didn't want to think about what could've hurt enough to make her leave. 

He took a shuddery breath and continued speaking. If he stopped for too long he feared his composure would shatter. 

"The night before our wedding, we snuck away from the festivities and went out on our boat. He loves the stars, he loves the Spirit Lights. They were so bright that night. He told me it was the spirits blessing the marriage." He had believed it. Of course he had. Now, though, he couldn't bring himself to. What kind of spirit blessed marriage would end with such a premature death? He wasn't even sixty-five yet. "We learned the constellations together when we were young, but he still pointed them all out to me as he saw them."

"He showed me the stars once," Izumi said, smiling sadly. No child should be able to make that expression. It hurt to see. 

Hakoda would have learned to chart the stars regardless, but Bato's unending fascination with them made it bearable. "Did he tell you that each star is a wish that came true?" Hakoda's mother had told him that once, and Bato had treasured that information and kept it safe in his mind ever since. "Or that his favorite constellation is the Octopus?" The Octopus, Bato had insisted, kept watch over the tribe. No matter where they are, he could point out the Octopus if the night was black enough. When they were at sea, he would point to it and remind Hakoda that their home was being protected. 

"Yeah, he told me that. He also told me your favorite constellation is the Swans," Izumi replied. Before Hakoda could even process it, there were tears rushing down his face and his knees were painfully making contact with the hard floor. 

He could hear Izumi panicking, afraid she had made him cry. He was aware of Zuko gently leading her out of the room with Aang and the other children following close behind. He could feel his children rubbing his back, trying in vain to comfort him. 

The Swans hadn't always been his favorite. He had fallen in love with it in the same breath that he had found true love for the first time, and then again when he opened his heart to love again. 

The Swans were from an ancient fable. The tale went something like this:

There was a woman. She was strong, independent, brave. She was alright on her own, but one day she found a love so unimaginable it consumed her. Her lover was the world to her, but her lover was reckless and offended the spirits. Her lover was thus turned into a gruesome long-necked bird the color of soot, cursed to float along the river for all eternity.

She was devastated by this loss. Her lover had not died, but she was no longer able to hold her lover's hand and kiss her lover's lips. She begged the spirits to fix this, to give her back the love she had. The spirits were not in the mood to forgive. 

She was turned into the same long-necked bird. Now given the opportunity to find her love again, she swam the river for years searching for the bird who used to hold her. It took a very long time, but they eventually found each other. 

As soon as they embraced and curled their necks together, the disgusting feathers melted away and were replaced with snow-white feathers, whiter than the whitest penguin's stomach. 

According to the story, their long necks became permanently intertwined, but it was alright. Their love was powerful and allowed them to live forever with each other, so their curse was very bearable. 

Swans, his mother had told him, mated for life. Losing their partner is akin to losing a wing. Hakoda hadn't understood how the birds felt until his wife was killed. 

The Swans weren't his favorite because of how he had felt when Kya was taken from him. They were his favorite because he wanted to believe there was a love that could overcome even the curses from spirits. 

He had only told Bato once that he looked for the Swans in the sky every night. He had only said it once, but Bato remembered it. He remembered it well enough to tell their granddaughter that it was his favorite. He probably even realized why the Swans in particular spoke to him, even if he had never explained it in so many words.

The Swans had defied the spirits and overruled death to stay together. He wanted to be like The Swans.

If Bato had to be turned into an ugly animal to survive, so be it. Hakoda would give anything to spend hundreds of years with him. 

He didn't have hundreds of years. He might not even have hundreds of minutes. 

His sobs felt like they were choking him. It was alright if they did. How could he live when Kya and Bato were- were gone?

He heard Katara sniffle and remembered exactly what was keeping him alive, if only barely.

Bato's heart finally gave out when the moon was falling to the west. The room was silent. There was no rain, no sudden thunder, nothing to show that the spirits cared.

Hakoda didn't have to hear Bato's breath ceasing when his soul departed. He could feel his other wing being ripped off. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm SORRY I swear, but look. The tags and summary were clear. You knew what you were getting into. Don't blame me. Please feel free to leave a comment telling me exactly how you feel and kudos if you enjoyed this :-)
> 
> As always, you can find me on tumblr at [dyoxyys](%E2%80%9Ddyoxyys.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D)!


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